studying the lorax with feedback loops - Creative Learning Exchange

?Lorax’sangerLorax’sanger--Once‐ler’sgreedOnce‐ler’sgreed+AnimalpopulationIncomplete LoopEnvironmentloopEnvironmentLoop-Animal+population++Trees cutEnvironmentalqualityTrees cut+-Environmentalquality-8. DEALING WITH INCOMPLETELOOPSExamine an incomplete loop with thestudents. In the example on the left,the Once-ler’s greed grows, and moretrees are cut down. Environmentalquality decreases, causing a decreasein the animal population. As theanimal population goes down, theLorax’s anger goes up. What does theLorax’s anger cause?Students will probably face thisquestion. Does the Lorax’s anger affectthe other elements of the connectioncircle? Or, to state the question from asystems perspective, is there anyfeedback resulting from the anger?Some students will contend that theLorax’s anger actually makes theOnce-ler greedier or at least moredetermined to exploit the Truffulatrees. “Business is business” after all.Another interpretation is that there isa long delay in the story. After theenvironment is destroyed, the Oncelerfinally feels regret. The “Lorax’sanger” reduces “Once-ler’s greed” asthe ruined entrepreneur now understandswhat he has done. That closesthe loop, making an EnvironmentLoop (lower left) to contrast with theProfits Loop.Sometimes a new element is neededto close a loop. Students may add afactor that does not appear on theirconnection circle. For example,“Once-ler’s regret” may be an elementthat changes during the story, causedby the Lorax’s behavior or the overalldegradation of the environment, orboth. Then the Once-ler’s regretreduces or eliminates his greed. Seethe Environment Loop on the nextpage.Page 5